Tyler Kroft

Kroft was signed to provide depth behind star tight end George Kittle. The 6-6 veteran will provide most of his value in terms of assisting the offensive line in the run game. In the event a tight end is called upon to replace the oft-injured Kittle, Kroft could become a red-zone threat if promoted to starter, as evidenced by his seven touchdowns with Cincinnati in 2017.

Kroft will battle with Ryan Griffin for the second spot on the Jets' tight end depth chart after coming over from the rival Bills on a one-year, $2 million contract in free agency, but neither veteran is expected to threaten Chris Herndon's starting job. The 28-year-old Kroft has surpassed 130 receiving yards only once in his six-year NFL career, doing so with a 404-yard campaign as the Bengals' starter in 2017.

Kroft signed a three-year, $18.75 million contract with the Bills in March of 2019 and appeared to have the inside track on the starting tight end job for the long haul. However, he broke his foot on the first day of OTAs and needed surgery. This opened the door for rookie Dawson Knox to step in and grab the starting role, a job the he'll likely retain this year. Nevertheless, Kroft battled back and appeared in 11 games in 2019 and could be a secret weapon in 2020 for Josh Allen and the Bills, though his current fantasy value is pretty low.

A foot injury limited Kroft to four catches for 36 yards in five games with the Bengals last season, but he still cashed in as a free agent, getting a three-year deal with the Bills worth $18.75 million. Considering the terms of his deal, the Bills were clearly banking on the 6-6, 252-pounder recovering fully from the foot injury that derailed his fourth year as a pro. When Kroft played a full slate in 2017, he hauled in 42 passes for 404 yards and seven TDs. Alas, the 26-year-old suffered another broken foot during the first day of OTAs, and with a three-to-four month recovery on tap, his Week 1 status is cloudy. With Kroft on the mend and his fantasy sleeper value on hold for now, veterans Lee Smith and Jason Croom are joined by 2019 draft picks Dawson Knox and Tommy Sweeney as the team's healthy options at tight end in advance of training camp.

Kroft did his best Tyler Eifert impersonation last season after the Bengals lost their starting tight end to yet another major injury. The 2015 third-round pick had seven TDs and 399 yards after Week 2, highlighted by two separate outings with six receptions and a pair of scores (Weeks 4 and 17). There were a lot of empty stat lines mixed in along the way, but Kroft at least proved reliable near the goal line, scoring six times on seven targets inside the 10-yard line. The Bengals hope Kroft will slide back to the No. 2 role, but Eifert's injury history suggests there will eventually be some starts up for grabs. Given his middling athleticism, Kroft probably doesn't have much of a ceiling beyond what we saw last year.

Kroft saw his numbers dip across the board in 2016, as he finished the year with just 10 catches for 92 yards in 14 games. He'll look to bounce back in 2017 and improve on those marks. Though a small improvement should be expected, he's a distant second on the depth chart behind starting tight end Tyler Eifert. Though Kroft is a near lock for the roster, he shouldn't be expected to produce reliable fantasy numbers unless Eifert is forced to miss time.

In his rookie campaign, Kroft hauled in 11 receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown serving as the immediate backup to starting tight end Tyler Eifert. With Eifert slated to miss most, if not all, of the preseason due to ankle surgery, Kroft takes the reigns as the starting tight end for the summer, receiving valuable reps with the first team. If Eifert fails to return on time, Kroft will be the go-to guy for the beginning of the season, which may be enough to put him on the fantasy radar.

Based purely on his stats in his final season at Rutgers, it was a surprise that the Bengals selected Kroft in the third round of the 2015 Draft. He caught just 24 passes for 269 yards and no touchdowns and missed three games with an upper body injury despite entering the year as one of the top tight ends in college football. Still, the Bengals are counting on Kroft to fill the void created by the departure of Jermaine Gresham, though they hedged their bets by also drafting C.J. Uzomah in the fifth round.